A Collection of Short Stories

The Demon in The Pendant

Emily woke up with a pain on her head. All she could see was a faint light hanging above her, shining light on her. The lightbulb above her swung right and left, in a specific rhythm, showering light in different directions. 

She tried to move her hands, but they were tied tightly behind her back with rough ropes. Her legs also refused to budge a millimetre. She struggled for a few moments, but to no avail. She was trapped in a dark room, with the lightbulb as her source of light. 

What...happened? 

She was walking back from school, along the street. And then... 

She got hit at the back of her head with a hard object, and blacked out immediately. 

What...do they...want from me? 

Is it because I come from a family so rich? 

Suddenly, she heard the creak of a door. Footsteps followed after, with a soft click from a gun. 

" Sleeping Beauty's awake! So. Let's go back down to business. " a male voice laughed 

She heard a chair creak under the man's weight. She couldn't see the man very clearly in the dark, but she could see the glint of the gun from the light. 

" I want that necklace. " the man said. 

" That's... a family heirloom! " Emily blurted out. 

" That necklace can be sold for about...hmm... 25K? That unique shape and azure crystal is hard to find in these markets. " the man argued. 

" You can't take that! " Emily shouted. " My parents will kill me! "

" But you can't move right? So you can't block me. " the man sneered. She heard the push of the chair as the footsteps get closer. She could see his shoes. 

" Cover her. " the man demanded. 

A black cloth was covered across her face, as she writhed under the cloth. The cloth seems to be suffocating her. She felt herself gasping for air in huge gulps. She felt a hand running across her bare neck as the man touched his fingertips on the necklace. She felt a tug at the back of her neck. 

" Help. " she whispered. " Help me. " 

Suddenly, there was no black cloth, no more lightbulb, no feeling of the ropes, no fingertips of the man, nothing. She was looking at a landscape, with white sand stretched out from her. The sky turned navy blue and grey, as the wind blew past her with soothing touches. 

Where am I? 

You ask for my help, Master of the Azure?

The words echoed through the desert. Emily turned around and saw a figure standing a few meters away from her. She couldn't see clearly. 

Are you my new master?

The same voice shouted across the valley, its deep sound shaking every bone in her body to stand still. 

" I... " Emily started, but didn't know what to answer the voice. She as its 'master'? What does that even mean? Somehow, it reminded of an anime she watched before. 

Speak, human. 

The words rolled through the desert, each word laced with anger and impatience. 

" I ask for your help! " Emily blurted out. 

Emily now could see the figure standing in front of her. 

Suddenly, the ground shook its greatest tremble, causing her to fall onto the sand that scratched her knees. She could finally see clearly the figure standing in front of her. 

A guy. Black hair, black clothes. Gloomy type of guy. 

But his eyes were special. His eyes were like stars in the darkness, blazing in the darkness like fire. Above him, the sky grew darker as they were covered with objects of darkness. She could see in the sky weapons shaking like they are going to explode. 

As you wish, my Master. 

The words jolted her back to reality. She was still wrapped in black cloth, back at the scene where the man pulled the pendant with a menacing giggle. 

Suddenly, she heard a bang and felt splatter of some liquid on her face. She heard the man in front of her let out a wail and thumped in front of her feet, shaking the fear out of her. Another two bangs, another two thumps. 

And then silence. She felt a presence right in front of her. She began to squirm but a hand gripped her to stop her from shaking. 

" Stop moving. I can't take you out of this binds if you move. " a male voice came out of nowhere. 

" You are... " Emily started. She felt the ropes dropping on the floor, freeing her hands at last and her legs can finally move. The guy removes the mask from her face. 

And she stared at the boy that saved her life. It's like the one she saw inside the dream. 

" We should get out of here. So.. can you stand? " the boy glanced behind him. 

" I think I can. " she said. She felt giddy of seeing the boy. 

" I'll piggyback you now. There's no time now. I could feel them. " the boy muttered. 

Piggyback? I never did that before with a stranger. 

" Just do it. " the boy demanded. 

" Sorry. " Emily whispered. She stood quickly and climbed onto his back. She gripped her hands around his neck as he carried her legs. She could feel the muscles at the boy's back. 

" Whatever you do, don't look back. It's not a sight you wish to see. " the boy warned, before going into a sprint straight through the doorway. 

The next few moments were a blur. Emily gripped him tightly as he rushed through the doors, ignoring all the enemies. There was a cacophony of sounds, none of them pleasing. Just wails and gunshots and stabbing sounds. But it doesn't sound right. If the boy was carrying her, how did he kill all the enemies? He doesn't have an extra pair of hands either. Strange. And how can he run with all her weight on her plus doing all the killing at the same time? He's somehow superhuman. 

Emily decided to turn back to see the truth, ignoring his warning. 

As he ran across the last set of doors, Emily turned back and saw weapons magically summoned out of nowhere and stabbed every  enemies in the heart. Gunshots were ricocheted by the other guns shooting around him. 

Such power. She wished she had that power to fight the bullies in her school. 

 He stopped suddenly. They were finally outside the building. He let her down from his back. 

" Are you alright? " the boy asked her. 

Emily couldn't muster an answer. She was shocked. 

" You went and turned right? " he said, realisation showing on his face. 

She nodded silently. 

The boy said nothing. 

" Thank you. " Emily said. 

" Your most welcome, Master. Can I know your name? " the boy extended a hand. 

" I'm Emily. And you? " Emily shook his hand. 

" Dillon, the Dark Knight Demon, at your service. " the boy said with a malicious smile. 

And then her sight blacked out. Silence came in a heartbeat. 

-

Dillon put her on her bed in her house. He sat next to her for a while. He still have a few minutes left before the pendant locked him inside until the next summoning. 

I must tell her the truth of me and the war that she must fight. 

He sat down, grabbed a piece of paper, roughly took a pen and began to write. 

A few minutes later, he finished, but his handwriting was horrible. 

" Ah, fudge. " he muttered. 

Perhaps not now. Perhaps another time, Dillon.